Sunday, June 27, 2010

All Star Superman v2 TPB

Grant Morrison has a lot of ideas. He packs another ton of them into this second and final volume of his brilliant All-Star Superman trade. I think my favorite thing about Morrison's Superman isn't even the crazy-awesome adventures or the insane ideas that get shuffled on and off panel on a constant basis. My favorite thing is just how kind Superman is in this trade.

My favorite scene in this trade opens when Superman stops a train from derailing, and as the crowd of saved folks shuffles off the train, we see one talking into his phone about how he's on his way and couldn't help the delay. It's a throwaway line of dialogue in the babble of a crowd. Superman moves on to do a quick good deed or two, and the scene shifts. A depressed goth-looking gal is standing on the edge of a building, dropping her phone after she thinks her therapist isn't coming to save her. She's about to step off when Superman arrives, and gently says "You're stronger than you think" and gives her a hug. What a great scene! Supes really is some kind of Super-Jesus in this.

Frank Quitely's art nails the tone throughout. His bulky, even stocky Superman is an imposing guy even when he's slouching around as Clark Kent. I love the Kryptonian style too, with smooth curves and nice solid colors.

I don't want to undersell the great insanity we expect from Morrison. Bizarro world as a huge planetary predator from the under-universe. Lex Luthor reading a book on cocktails as he waits for his turn on death row. Steve Lombard's unique resistance to Bizarro-infection. This is another wonderful story from Morrison, and it deserves all the accolades it's received.